Following a statement from the Rt Hon Owen Paterson MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Member of Parliament for The Cotswolds, praised the emergency services in the way they dealt with the recent flooding. He also asked for the Environment Secretary's assurances that front line staff at the Environment Agency will be protected against any cuts so that his constituents would have the support they required during floods.

Secondly he raised the issue of the speed at which flood maps are updated to allow his constituents to get correct flood insurance.

Please see full text of Mr Clifton-Brown's question below:

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (The Cotswolds) (Con): May I say to my right hon. Friend that there has been more flood prevention work in the Cotswolds in the past two years than there was in the whole of the 13 years of the previous Government? Nevertheless, some of my constituents in Cirencester and the area have suffered sewage and water flooding for the second Christmas in succession. They really appreciated the work of the emergency services, particularly the Environment Agency. Will he ensure that the front-line services the Environment Agency so generously provided over this period will be maintained and, in particular, that flood maps are rapidly updated, so that they can get up-to-date insurance?

Mr Paterson: I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his comments, which reflect the very good work of the Environment Agency. I want to quote its chief executive, Dr Paul Leinster, whom I have been speaking to daily-I hope that this will reassure my hon. Friend-who has said: "The planned reductions in posts will not affect the Environment Agency's ability to respond to flooding incidents and the Environment Agency will minimise the impact on other frontline services through the changes."